


eclipsed

by Eternalmomentss



Series: Sun and Moon adventures [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Isa is a keyblade wielder, M/M, Post-Canon, berserk!Isa, this is somthing i needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28407414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eternalmomentss/pseuds/Eternalmomentss
Summary: He’d tried. He had tried to lock it away. But he’d forgotten to hide the key.It was intense. A violent tremor in his soul. A force, eating its way through skin, bone and mind. As Saix, he had thought of it as beautiful. A beautiful madness that took all of the pain away. If only for a second. A promise of strength for a broken man.His teeth were aching. And that was the last thing Isa felt, before he lost himself to the brute power of the moon, pulling him away from control. A low tide. Mental war.A battle cry arose in his head.Lea. Lea. Lea.
Relationships: Isa & Lea & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Sun and Moon adventures [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2082330
Comments: 6
Kudos: 45





	eclipsed

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my beautiful readers! I'm back with a another little fic! This has been on my mind for ages, so naturally I had to write it all down. I just needed / Lea gets hurt and Isa goes berserk against his will / and well here we are. An effort was made. (This is written as part of my Completely Incomplete and other leaisa fics timeline, but can be read as a standalone fic as well) Also, plot? What is plot? (please excuse possible spelling mistakes whoops) Enjoy!

Isa was staring down at his knuckles, pale from clawing at the armrest of the chair he was sitting in. His breathing was shallow and his mind veiled. He could feel the women’s serene brown eyes on him, that intense stare that angered him in ways he couldn’t understand. He shouldn’t feel this way, but every time _that particular_ topic came up again, he could feel that rage rise up in his body like hot bile. He hated it with every single bone in his body.

On good days, the session would end with Isa feeling free. He would leave the half-timbered cottage with relief bubbling comfortably in his belly. Today wasn’t one of these days, it wouldn’t be one of them.

_And today out of all days…_

“Before we end for today-“, said his therapist, leaning back in her chair and eying him up and down, “-I would like to know what new abilities you have learned since we’ve last spoken.”

Isa finally looked up, tearing his gaze off his hand. He swallowed, before giving his answer: “Just some basic melee attacks.”

“Have you been able to enhance your magic capacities any further?

“Unfortunately, no.”, said Isa, averting his gaze, as he felt the shame rise inside of him.

“You mentioned having difficulties with magic.”, the dark-haired woman leaned forward, her pen scraping on the piece of paper on her clipboard. The sound was louder than it should have been.

“Yes.”, Isa didn’t need a professional’s voice to conclude why, “My spells are too weak most of the time.”

“I thought so.”

Isa felt his toenails curl as the pen kept scratching away relentlessly.

“And according to your reports, your _condition_ has not returned.”

“No.”

Not once. Because Isa had sworn to suppress it. Isa had sworn to swallow it down. He had sworn to bleed it out in battle, wielding the power of light, not darkness. Never again. No matter how long it would take for him to cut this part of him away.

Isa would never let it take control ever again.

* * *

„How soon can you be there?”

“We can leave right away.”, said Lea, carefully balancing four breakfast plates through the kitchen, while cradling his phone between his ear and shoulder, “Just say the word and we’re off.”

“Well, it is quite urgent, so I would really appreciate it.” Aqua’s voice was tense and vigilant, yet Lea could very well hear the exhaustion weighing down her tongue.

“Sure thing.”, said Lea casually, “Dark rescue is my middle name.”

Aqua chuckled and the redhead was pretty sure it came with a roll of her eyes. It always did.

“I’m sorry, Lea. “, sighed the young Master wistfully, “I know it’s your anniversary and you surely didn’t intent to spend the rest of the day hunting heartless yet again. But I have to investigate three incidents in three different worlds today and I – …”

“Hey, it comes with the job.”, Lea shrugged his shoulders, dropping the plates into the sink with a loud clank, “We knew what we were signing up for.”

“Okay, I’ll transmit the coordinates.”

“We’ll be there in full gear.”, Lea took the phone in his hand and put on a (fake) confident grin, hoping Aqua could somehow hear it in his voice.

“Thank you, Lea.”

“Sure thing!”

That ended the call. Lea stared at the display for another three minutes, before letting his phone slide into his back pocket. He stretched his arms and back until it cracked, before catching a glance of the clock above the fridge. It was nine in the morning; the kids were already in school and Isa was probably still at their therapist’s. Though their session should have already ended by now.

With a long, exaggerated sigh, the redhead dialled his fiancé’s number. He pinched the bridge of his nose and started nibbling at his bottom lip, as he waited for Isa to pick up.

It was true. Lea had hoped to spend their first anniversary as on official couple alone and in peace. Both of them had taken a day off work, they’d planned their perfect (painfully cheesy) date and everything. And what did they get instead? A mission in an unknown world, that could get them both killed. It wasn’t ideal.

The redhead curled his lip. Maybe he was being stingy. People needed their help and here he was, only thinking about himself. He had to admit it to himself. Settling down had changed him in many ways. He’d gotten a bit sluggish over the last few months. Perhaps, a mission would do him good.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe.”, Lea made his way over to the living room with languid steps and plopped down onto the couch, groaning, “I think we have to make a change of plans today.”

“What does that mean?”, Isa asked carefully.

“Aqua just called.”

It was enough information for Isa to understand what was going on, “Oh.”

“Yeah.”, Lea pressed his lips together, “We should leave right away.”

“What about the kids?”

Lea shook his head, “We can handle that ourselves, no need to get them involved today.”

He would have to endure a very long tirade for this tonight, he could already feel it coming. Roxas and Xion would give him absolute hell for excluding them.

“Are you sure?”, the concern in Isa’s voice told him he was thinking the exact same thing, “You know what happened last time.”

Lea remembered alright. Xion had refused to speak to him for at least three days. And she’d stolen and wolfed down all of Isa’s cinnamon cookies just to punish him. Finding the jar empty had come with a feeling of emptiness still unknown to mankind.

“They’re in school anyway-“, Lea said, biting the tip of his thumb, “-and we have to go now.”

“I see.”, Isa took a deep breath, “I’ll be there in a minute, go and get everything we need.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

Isa held onto Lea’s waist, pouting. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something so childish, but this occasion allowed it. The bluehead was not happy (partly because Lea’s reckless gliding made him feel uncomfortably nauseous. He wasn’t very well acquainted with that new glider thing yet). He would even go as far as to say that he was angry. Of course, he would never admit that. They were on their way to help people in need. It was a good thing, he tried to remind himself. It was their job now, their responsibility. And that responsibility came with a couple of sacrifices.

_But did it have to be today?_

Isa was pouting his lips a little too aggressively. It was a good thing that his face was hidden behind the dark visor of his midnight blue helmet.

He was still a rookie, he was still new to it all. It had only been a month since he’d summoned Full Moon for the first time. Every fibre of his body still remembered that radiant feeling. The adrenaline and power. So much unlike the power he was used to from his time as – that name he did his best to avoid mentioning. Warm and light. Every breath more liberating than the last, as if the power of light had finally freed him from drowning all his life. Drowning in rage and anger.

But he really didn’t want to think about all that now. That was what his therapy sessions were for. So, he tightened his arms around Lea’s torso, biting down a comment about just how skinny his boyfriend was. Even though Isa kept Lea well fed (on healthy meals and sweets alike), it seemed quite impossible for the redhead to gain just a little more weight.

“I think we’re here.”, declared Lea after a while, before taking a sharp turn to the left that caused Isa’s stomach to twist and plummet. He swallowed, probably going pale underneath the armour.

“Hold on tight-“, Lea braced himself for a bumpy landing, “-we’re going down.”

Isa prayed to the light.

He wasn’t sure if it was fate, or the gods above, or luck _or_ (and that was unlikely) Lea’s own competence, but the two keyblade wielders landed softly on the mossy ground of this new world without a scratch.

Lea hummed in satisfaction, as he dismounted the glider and took off his helmet. He shook his head, his bright red hair gleaming in the golden sunlight, and took a deep breath, sniffing the air. Isa mimicked the gesture and let his gaze wander.

“Where are we?”, mumbled the bluehead under his breath, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

They’d landed in the middle of a clearing surrounded by slender trees, stretching themselves high to meet the pale sun above their heads. It seemed so far away, which was probably one of the reasons why it was so cool down here. Only some shreds of clouds were covering the deep blue sky, standing still with no wind to carry them farther. The air was stagnant, nothing around them seemed to move. As if this world was trapped in a deep slumber. 

Lea shrugged his shoulders, calling Flame Liberator to his hand in a flick of his wrist, “Aqua didn’t give me a name, just the coordinates.”

Isa nervously bit his bottom lip. “It’s so quiet.”, he observed, “Are there no people around?”

“Beats me, babe.”, said Lea casually.

Isa’s heart fluttered at the sound of that word. It had been a whole year and he was still so easily flustered by all the colourful variations of disgustingly sweet and cheesy pet names. There were old fashion ones that Isa himself loved to tease Lea with, the boring and overused ones and the ones that were a little bit too _Lea._ Luckily, Isa had convinced his sun to stop calling him sugar face.

_“But you are so cute!”_

_“Please stop.”_

_“And you love to bake.”_

_“I hate you.”_

“Maybe we should have a look around first.”, suggested Isa, clenching and unclenching his fist like he always did, before summoning his own keyblade. A majestic midnight-blue blade, embellished with streaks of silver, gleaming brighter than the stars in the night sky, winding all the way down the edge to the hilt. The little crescent moon on the end of the chain was jingling softly at the slightest movement of Isa’s arm.

“Yeah, check the perimeter.”, Lea nodded and held out his hand for Isa to take.

As they made their way to the other side of the clearing they’d landed on, Isa gave his fiancé’s hand a ginger squeeze. Lea took the hint and turned his head to look at Isa.

“Huh?”

“Did you at least call them?”

Lea rolled his eyes, “I left a note, that should do the job alright.”

“I doubt that.”

* * *

Xion crumpled up the little piece of paper between her fingers, clenching her teeth in anger, “I’m gonna kill him.”

“There won’t be much left of him after I’m done kicking his scrawny ass.”, Roxas growled and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Xion huffed, “Where are the damn cookies?”

* * *

“It’ll be fine.”, Lea smirked and nudged Isa’s hip with his own, “We’ll be back before they know it.”

“I won’t defend you in the argument to come, love.”

“I thought so.”, Lea rolled his eyes and gave Isa a quick peck on the cheek, before nodding his head and dragging his fiancé with him into the forest. He seemed a bit too thrilled all of a sudden, to Isa’s liking at least. But that was just Lea; always trying to make the best out of everything and even succeeding about eighty to ninety percent of the time. Great odds, Isa thought with a twitch of his shoulder.

As they walked on deeper into the forest, the golden light around them gave way to a misty darkness that made Isa’s hair stand on end. Eerie fog came slithering its way around the slender tree trunks, crawling close to the wet ground like snakes on the hunt. They found themselves in some sort of wetland; a swamp, considering the number of trees surrounding them. Isa felt the blood in his veins grow colder, the deeper they immersed into unknown territory. It felt like walking straight into another world. The ground underneath their feet gave way, making it a lot more exhausting to keep walking. Squelching filled the air around them. 

“Great-“, muttered Lea under his breath, “-now I can waste a whole day cleaning that mud off my armour.”

“You should worry about other things at the moment.”, Isa was still holding onto his fiancé’s hand, scared to slip away from him, “I don’t like this place at all.”

“Can’t say I’m feeling homey.”, said Lea, peeking over his shoulder.

Lea’s hand was sweaty in Isa’s grasp and he could feel the redhead flinch, as the cry of an old crow echoed through the mist.

Isa ran is thumb over the cold back of Lea’s hand, “Don’t worry, Lea.”

“Worry?”, snorted the redhead, his eyes widening in shock. He looked at Isa, offended to the last bone, “I’m not worried. I’m not scared either, I’m just-“

Lea interrupted himself with a loud squeak. He clung to Isa’s arm at the sound of his phone ringing in his back pocket. Isa very well noticed his long legs trembling. Even his own heart stopped for a millisecond, before the bluehead exhaled through his teeth.

“Lea, you’re phone.”

The redhead dug his fingers into Isa’s arm, “Yeah, yeah my phone.”

Isa raised his eyebrow and smiled at the man leeched to his side. His brows were drawn together and he was scrunching his nose (which, to be honest, looked quite adorable). The amused look on Isa’s face probably came off as very smug, judging by the way Lea curled his bottom lip at him.

“Shut up.”, growled the redhead.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking.”

“And?”

Lea stuck his tongue out, causing Isa to roll his eyes. The redhead let go of his fiancé’s arm to take the call.

“Yeah?”

“Lea!”, it was Aqua, breathing heavily between words, “Lea, you two have to get out of there now!”

Lea furrowed his brow, heart pounding hard in his chest, “What?”

Isa sensed that something was terribly wrong, just as the air shifted. There was a sudden chill all around them. Something was moving. Something was close by.

“I shouldn’t have sent you alone.”, Aqua panted, Isa could hear her shaky voice clearly, cutting through the silence like it didn’t belong, “Please leave and come back to regroup in the Land of-“

Lea clenched his teeth in frustration when the call dropped, leaving them with nothing more than the sad sound of a dead connection and a queasy feeling in the stomachs.

“I’ll take that as a bad omen.”, Lea turned his head and forced a smile at his boyfriend, but Isa could see the fear in his eyes. He knew what it meant when the lively emerald colour flickered down from blaze to embers.

“We should go.”, Isa tried his best to keep a composure, for his own sake and Lea’s. He tugged at his sun’s hand, silently bidding him to move and return to the clearing.

“But Aqua said it was important.”, Lea rammed his heels into the muddy ground, refusing to move.

Isa felt a hot streak of annoyance racing up and down his spine. “You heard her!”, he growled, tugging harder, “We should go.”

Lea only looked at him through sharp eyes, shaking his head, “But, the people-“

“Damn it, Lea, stop being so stubborn for once-“, Isa snapped, “-there are no people here!”

Lea gasped, causing Isa to immediately let go of his boyfriend’s hand after realizing just how sharp and enraged his voice had sounded. Like a knife cutting through butter, his words had cut through Lea’s skin. 

“I’m sorry – “, said Isa meekly, turning his head away, “ – I don’t know where that came from.”

Lea bit his lip, hands shaking and eyes on his muddy boots, “Yeah.”

But they had no time to lose. Apparently, this world was against them and it was only a matter of time before something disastrously dangerous would come their way to ruin their day. It always did. At this point, Isa was sure that the both of them tended to unintentionally seek out trouble. Or attract it.

“Please Lea, let’s just-“

A bloodcurdling scream made the trees of the dark forest tremble in fear. Dry leaves came raining down and the ground started shaking underneath their feet. Isa had to cover his ears and squeeze his eyes shut. He tried to open them again, right when he felt an icy breeze gnaw at his skin and bones. The world was taking a deep breath, just before another scream made his vision blur.

“What the hell is that?”, yelled Lea over the bloodcurdling noise.

Whatever it was, Isa was not keen on meeting it. Not now.

And as if the situation wasn’t unfortunate enough – Isa cursed under his breath – countless oozy blobs of pure shadows came rising out of the wet ground all around them. Pairs of yellow eyes held the two trapped in their gaze. The heart-crushing feeling of darkness came climbing up their legs. Heartless. Hundreds of heartless, now slowly circling the two, waiting for the best opportunity to strike, drawn to the light, drawn to their hearts.

Next thing he knew, Isa was grabbing Lea by the arm and ran, fear cording up his windpipe. 

He didn’t dare to look over his shoulder. He only tightened his grip around Lea’s wrist, making sure he was still behind him. His heart started racing, along with his mind as he tried to come up with several escape plans. None of which included turning around and fighting the heartless along with whatever it was that was chasing them through the dark mist. Some might call that cowardly, Isa called it _trying not to die on their anniversary day_. He liked that version a lot more.

He didn’t intent to get close to that _thing_ breathing down their necks, but firing magic from afar was no option either. Isa was used to fighting up close, landing a couple of heavy hits to end the job, but this was no ordinary heartless. This was a lot bigger and a lot more complicated.

“Isa!”, Lea panted behind him, his black-painted nails digging into his fiancé’s skin, “What are we doing right now?”

“Running!”

“Why are we doing that?”

“I don’t really fancy death.”, growled the bluehead, squinting his eyes as the clearing came into view, “Especially on our anniversary.”

“But that thing-“, Lea hissed, but Isa was quick to interrupt.

“-is probably going to tear us apart.”, he finished bitterly, picking up speed. He just wanted – needed – to get them out of here and report back to Master Aqua.

They reached the clearing, breaking through the branches and mist and gasping for air, as if they hadn’t been able to breathe this whole time. Isa didn’t have enough time to think about that. He stopped hard in his tracks, air hissing through his teeth as he inhaled sharply. Lea crashed into him, arms locking around his fiancé’s waist as he yelped in surprise.

“Lea do you have your glider ready?”

The redhead swallowed, wide green eyes staring at Isa. He nodded his head, just when the crack and crash of falling trees made him flinch and whirl around. Isa pulled him closer, savouring the warmth of the redhead’s body and feeling safer for a split second, before the earth started shaking again and a sound like thunder came rolling through the forest.

There was no time left.

Shadows and soldiers came spilling out of the scrub, wearing the mist as capes as they crept closer. Isa and Lea readied their keyblades again, bracing for an attack. Lea sent several fireballs flying at the swarm of heartless, reducing them to ashes soaking into the ground. Hearts in the form of golden orbs of light rose up to the now pitch-black sky, searching for their lost shells.

The ones that were to quick and agile manoeuvred their way through Lea’s relentless fire magic, but were met by Isa’s blade. It sang in the air, slicing through darkness and vaporizing the creatures in one single heavy hit. What Isa was lacking in magic capacities, he could easily make up with pure strength.

Just when the two keyblade wielders were starting to gain the upper hand, the creatures collectively froze in their tracks. Their claws sank into the muddy ground, their glassy, yellow eyes were fixed on something Isa couldn’t see. Lea shuffled impossibly closer, his breath grazing the other man’s skin.

And with a deafening roar and the sound of a thousand thunderstorms, the giant heartless they’d come for broke through the trees, sharp fangs and claws on display and eyes the colour of fresh blood glinting sharply in the darkness. Lea instantly took a step back and Isa pushed himself in front of him. A sudden feeling of familiarity shot through Isa’s bones. A feeling he didn’t like at all.

The heartless that was now stomping toward them with heavy steps was enormous. Probably twice or even three times the size of a demon tide. A darkness as thick and adamant as steel, born from years and years of lurking in the shadows, feasting on every living creature this world had once contained.

Isa knew, it was fight or flight now. And he feared it was too late for the latter.

The bluehead cursed under his breath, before taking a step back and pushing Lea with him. “You ready, Lea?”, he growled.

“You bet.”

Both Flame Liberator and Full Moon were gleaming brightly in the dark of the storm around them, the powerful energy entrapped in the metal ready to break free. Ready to burst. And with their hearts beating fiercely in their chest, Lea and Isa charged. Side by side they ran, a flash of blue and red in the heat of the moment.

The fight commenced and Isa started circling Lea like the moon circled the earth. His whole world. Lea was the blazing flame that Isa needed to keep alive. He had to keep the fire burning.

Since the very beginning of his training, Isa had fought at Lea’s side. He’d learned at his side, soaking up the heat, moving with it. Moving with Lea. As if the other man was a part of him – had always been a part of him. They were each other’s weapons. Isa feared that, without Lea, his power could fade at any second; that strength in his heart could die. Moving without him was impossible. Unthinkable.

“How ‘bout this?”

Lea fired his magic at the heartless, distracting it so Isa could deal blow after blow. The fire ate through the darkness, the substance oozing onto the floor like a human’s blood. Lea transformed his keyblade into the familiar fire-coated chakrams and whirled them at the monster. Blow after blow by the sun and the moon. Fire and Metal.

But their attacks seemed to be in vain. The blood-eyed creature didn’t even falter. It screamed and growled and flicked its knife-like tail at Lea and Isa. Isa dodged at the very last second, feeling the sharp gust of air just millimetres away from his ear.

He turned his head, searching for Lea. Always searching for Lea. His heart was pounding, his chest tight, his head spinning. Because he couldn’t see him. Lea wasn’t with him anymore. Lea wasn’t here.

Panic. Icy panic arose in his burning chest. It hurt. His vision went dark, fear clouding his eyes. His heart was drumming against his ribcage, his legs started to tremble. He couldn’t move.

“Lea?”, he shouted, praying for the answer to come. His eyes were frantically searching for the sun.

“Isa, I’m-“

Lea’s quick response ended in a cry of pain. Isa’s heart stopped, as a wave of unbearable pain rolled through his whole body. His head started spinning, he began to sway on his legs.

It was fascinating, really. The marvellous power of the paopu fruit. Once shared between two people, it was not just their destinies intertwining. It was everything. Every thread of their being. Their breaths, their hearts, their pain. Isa and Lea shared it all.

And when the fanged monster hit Lea square in the chest, sending him flying through the air, Isa could feel it. He could feel the shocks of pain, the fear and confusion. And when Lea’s body hit the ground, Isa felt a horrifying heat boiling up in his throat.

He felt all of it. 

Until he felt nothing at all.

That second breath in his lungs, the heartbeat singing next to his. It was gone.

His eyes were fixed on Lea’s unmoving body.

_No._

It arose inside. His hands started shaking, his scar was burning. Burning like it had the night they had carved it into his forehead. That madness. It had found a way to break him open again to enter. It had found the one way. The only way.

_Lea._

Lea was lying on the ground, unmoving. Isa wanted to run to him, take him into his arms. Wake him. But he couldn’t – couldn’t move as the deafening insanity took over. 

He’d tried. He had tried to lock it away. But he’d forgotten to hide the key.

It was intense. A violent tremor in his soul. A force, eating its way through skin, bone and mind. As Saix, he had thought of it as beautiful. A beautiful madness that took all of the pain away. If only for a second. A promise of strength for a broken man.

His teeth were aching. And that was the last thing Isa felt, before he lost himself to the brute power of the moon, pulling him away from control. A low tide. Mental war.

A battle cry arose in his head.

_Lea. Lea. Lea._

* * *

Xion felt a raging storm tear at her arms and legs, as she and Roxas descended, causing her to nearly lose control over her vehicle. They broke through a wall of heavy clouds, feeling the air tremble and hiss. Her skin was running hot from the intense friction, even underneath her armour.

“Can you see them anywhere?”, called Roxas, his voice thin underneath the helmet.

“Look!”, answered Xion, squinting her eyes, “There on that clearing!”

The girl could hear her best friend inhale in shock. He wavered on his glider, nearly losing his balance and gaped, “What is this?!”

It was a question the girl couldn’t possible answer in a simple sentence. The sight before her was all but ghastly. She could hear the blood rush in her ears, her veins running hot. Xion wasn’t sure if it was horror or curiosity. She couldn’t tell what could do her better in this moment.

A whole mountain of a heartless was raging down on the ground, hollering with a voice like broken glass. It was all dark claws and teeth and sharp edges. Much scarier than the vile creatures in those horror movies they always watched on Sundays.

“I see the target, Rox!”, announced the girl after she’d found her voice again. She had difficulties coughing up the words. Because the heartless was not the only thing out there. No, there was another storm raging down on that clearing. A storm with bright yellow eyes, blue hair and screams that could have shattered human bones. A one-man earthquake.

“It can’t be…”, Xion said it without knowing why. Why couldn’t it be? No one had ever said it was gone forever. No, what she’d wanted to say was that it shouldn’t be. This should not be happening. She didn’t want it to happen.

Xion swallowed, as she watched Isa go berserk right in front of their eyes.

“Come on!”, she leaned forward, balling her hands into fists and digging her own fingernails into her flesh. Roxas followed.

It was a bone-chilling sight. The glow of these hollow eyes, the bared fangs, able to pierce through skin and bone. The jagged scar, a wound torn open by the madness within. The way he was moving, bestial and savage. And his screams. His screams that echoed through the forest like a desperate lament. A deadly warning.

“You killed him!”, he cried, “You took him from me!”

The words left Xion feel terribly empty. She almost missed her cue, but Roxas’ voice brought her back to the moment, “Now, Xion!”

The two young keyblade wielders jumped off their gliders, summoning their weapons in one fluid synchronised motion.

Isa was fighting the heartless with insane precision and horrific strength. His keyblade – normally such an elegant blade, coloured like the serene, deep sea – had changed its shape. It resembled the all too familiar claymore their own weapons had clashed with in a war that seemed a lifetime away. Blue-flamed shockwaves emerged from every impact, tearing through the inky darkness of the giant heartless, leaving it defenceless and desperate. It was blinded by the pale blue aura around Isa that kept him fed on lunacy.

And finally – after standing frozen to the ground for several minutes that felt like lifetimes – Xion saw him. Lea. Lea was lying on the ground, his face still and empty. The girl noticed specks of red on the green grass around him. A gruesome contrast. Her breath hitched in her throat and her legs carried her against her will.

“Lea!”, she screamed, fear breaking the word in two. 

Lea didn’t hear.

Xion ran, Roxas right on her toes, sending a quick prayer to Kingdom Hearts. They dropped down next to their best friend, shaking him, calling his name. To no avail.

Xion clawed at Lea’s armour, forcing herself not to look at the blood slowly seeping through the man’s hair and into the wet soil. He’d taken a heavy blow to the head, she concluded in the heat of the moment.

“Roxas, quick give me the elixir!”, order the girl fiercely.

Roxas nodded his head, somewhat relieved that no one could see his wet eyes behind the visor of his helmet. He tossed he little bottle over to Xion, who opened it with a pop and administered it with shaky hands.

“Wake up, you stupid bean pole!”, it came out as a frustrated growl bubbling in the back of Xion’s throat, “Listen to me for once in your life!”

“Xion, duck!”, Roxas yelped just in time for Xion to dodge the knife-like tail of the giant heartless still rampaging on the open field behind them. She threw herself forward onto Lea’s body with a gasp.

Roxas clenched his teeth and jumped up, gripping Oathkeeper harder in his hand. His eyes were flashing with fierce hostility. “Hey!”, he yelled, taking a step forward, “How dare you, asshole!”

The young keyblade wielder was about to charge at their opponent, when a flash of blue prevented him from moving. He nearly fell backwards and was forced to squeeze his eyes shut to avoid the blinding flames.

And when Roxas dared to open them again, standing hunched and unsteady, he saw nothing but blue.

Isa was right there in front of him, shielding the kids and Lea from whatever threat dared to lay a single finger on them. A guttural growl from deep down his chest caused the earth to tremble underneath his feet. The sharp fangs were glinting in the flames, his eyes flashing with animosity.

“Leave my family alone!”

Roxas stared, petrified by the sound of the man’s voice. He could hear Xion gasp behind his back.

Isa was here with them, but buried beneath a coat of despair and madness. A delirium. Drunk on the moon’s power. Fuelled by the unconditional love for –

“Your family.”, breathed Xion, her voice carried away by a shockwave erupting from yet another heavy blow dealt by whatever it was that kept controlling Isa’s arms and legs.

And as Roxas watched Isa claw and scream and bite and rage, he couldn’t help but _think_. Maybe it wasn’t unfiltered rage. Maybe it wasn’t sheer lunacy. There was more to it than anger and chaos. They said that _love_ makes you crazy, that love makes you blind and that is messes with your mind. That there is not one force stronger than that. No force as dangerous.

And for the first time in his existence, Roxas asked himself how it felt. Losing control over mind and body. Was is painful? Exhilarating? Thrilling?

“Isa…”

For a second, Roxas thought the word had come out of his own mouth.

“Isa.”

Xion inhaled sharply behind the other boy’s back, “Lea?”

Roxas’ heart leaped toward his ribcage and he whirled around to see their best friend slowly crack his emerald eyes open. He groaned, blinking in confusion and trying to move his head, but flinching at the pain that came with it.

“Shit.”, he hissed, squeezing his eyes shut again.

“Wait a sec!”, said Xion hastily and fumbled for her keyblade lying in the grass next to Lea’s limp body, “Heal.”

The second she uttered the magic command, Lea let out a long sigh of relief. He blinked again and turned his head, his eyes frantically searching for something.

“Oh, thank Kingdom Hearts.”, the girl let out a long sigh of relief, the horror crumbling off her skin, leaving her sweaty and cold.

“Where is-?”, started the redhead meekly, too weak to continue, hoping the kids would understand.

Roxas pressed his lips together, unintentionally balling his hands to fists. It didn’t take long for Lea to realize. The screams and cries and the sound of skin ripping and darkness dripping was devastatingly loud.

“He’s-“, the redhead coughed, clawing at the dirt, “But it can’t-“

A thunderous holler rattled their bones, rendering Lea unable to speak. With a hiss and growl, the giant heartless started to desperately claw at its own chest, trying to somehow close the gaping hole that Isa had just blown through the many layers of pitch-black darkness. Ice-blue pillars of fire shot through the creature’s arms and legs and a massive billow of dense smoke rose up to the clouded sky, covering the faint silhouette of the sun completely. And with cracking and sizzling, the heartless dissolved into nothing more than ashes, releasing not one, but thousands of golden orbs. Hearts. Hearts on their way to reunite with the hollow shells the keyblade war had left behind more than a year ago.

“He did it.”, breathed Xion, her hands trembling. Lea’s gaze, shifting and unshifting into focus, followed the man standing on his lonesome on the battlefield. Victorious, but lost.

Isa did it. Isa, on his very own, had succeeded in freeing this world from the clutches of the remaining darkness it had harboured. He’d saved thousands of lives. And yet – now as before, the man couldn’t save himself. Still his eyes were glowing, his teeth bared and his mind veiled.

“Isa!”, called Roxas desperately, “Isa, wake up!”

Lea winced. He’d seen this all before.

_Isa, time to wake up!_

But their voices didn’t reach him. He was too far gone. Unable to break through the surface, trapped underwater. He was just standing there, his limbs twitching unnaturally.

“He can’t hear you, Roxas.”, Xion shook her raven head.

“Why?”, Lea breathed, “How did this happen?” He choked the words out like poison, his throat corded up by tears and regret.

“It doesn’t matter.”, hissed Xion, shaking her head, “We have to get him out.”

“And we have to have a strategy.”, Roxas kept his eyes on their friend. He hated to admit it, but he was scared. He couldn’t tell what Isa was capable of and even though he’d protected them before, who was to say he couldn’t turn on them any second. A repulsive feeling of mistrust settled in the boy’s stomach like a parasite.

“How?”, Xion shook her head in defeat, “How do we get him back?”

“Maybe we can trick him somehow.”, suggested the boy, “Or we have to knock him out of it.”

“Roxas, this is still Isa in there.”, Xion’s tone was sharp, her eyes flashing at her best friend, “We could hurt him.”

“Xion, we don’t know what he’s capable of!”, Roxas shot back, “He could easily hurt us too.”

“But-“

“Lea, what do you think?”, Roxas turned his head to look at the redhead, only to find that he wasn’t next to him, “What?”

Xion gasped and whirled around, Roxas’ eyes darted left and right. But Lea wasn’t there. Lea was –

“What are you doing?!”

* * *

Lea had known pain. Heartbreak. Torture and fear. The kind of terror that shattered bone and mind. He’d been through it all. Living despite everything life had thrown at him. He’d cheated death more than once. He’d made it to the finish line holding the hand of the person he loved the most.

The person who was losing himself right in front of his eyes. A heartbreak unlike any other.

His legs were carrying him onward, despite the throbbing ache in his bones. His whole body was trembling, he had trouble holding his balance. The sharp pain in his head was probably clouding his senses, silencing his voice of reason. But Lea didn’t care. Not one bit. Because this was Isa. And he would do anything for Isa.

Isa who was crying and howling and mewling now, hunched over, hiding from the world. Whose eyes were gleaming in that ghostly colour. He was holding his head now, clawing at the scar on his forehead, trying to rip the madness out. Tears were burning on his skin.

Lea’s heart was as heavy as his head. There were voices behind him, urging him to turn around and come back. But he could never turn his back on Isa.

He approached his moon carefully, never taking his eyes off him. He reached out his hand, his whole arm shaking uncontrollably.

Isa wailed as Lea put his hand on his arm. The touch was delicate, but firm. Lea held on. Scared to let the other man drift away. Energy crackled in the air between them, the fire flared. Isa whimpered.

Words formed out of the dark pool of laments. “Lea.”, cried Isa, “Where are you?”

“I’m right here, love.”, whispered Lea breathlessly, “I’m here.”

Isa was gasping now, desperate to breathe the same air as Lea. His hand was feeling for something to hold onto. And Lea gave him his hand.

“Come back to me, Isa.”, whispered Lea over the chaos, “We’re safe.”

Lea took Isa’s free hand into his, softly shushing every wail and sob. He shuffled closer, the heat almost unbearable. The force and friction around them was pushing and pulling the air, making it hard to breathe. But Lea kept holding on, running his thumb over Isa’s skin. And nothing could tear him away now.

“Lea.”, mewled Isa over the roar and mania. A single word on his lips as a prayer and promise.

“I’m here.”, said Lea again, slowly letting his head fall forward. Every trace of fear or uncertainty was gone, swept away by the sudden flash of ocean-blue. And when Lea’s forehead came to rest against Isa’s, sparks erupted from where they were touching; new flames blazing in the disarray.

And with every beat of Lea’s heart and every breath he took, he reached further.

Isa’s cries grew softer, until he drew in a deep breath. And with it, the fire died down, the air stilled and Isa broke through the surface.

“It’s alright, love.”, Lea pushed himself closer, embracing the moon. His heart started beating faster against Isa’s chest, “I’m here.”

Isa’s head fell down onto Lea’s shoulder, his breath shallow against the shell of his ear, “I thought you –…”

“I would never leave you.”

“You didn’t move and – “, Isa pressed his nose into the crook of Lea’s neck, “ – I didn’t know what came over me, it just happened.”

“I know Isa, it’s alright.”, said Lea faintly, running his hand through Isa’s hair, damp from sweat, “Don’t blame yourself.”

Isa only shook his head, a soft sob rocking his exhausted body. Lea held him closer, just as Roxas and Xion came running over to them, wide eyed and breathless. And they didn’t waste a single second, didn’t event think, before throwing their arms around their family. There was relief in the way they held on, comfort in the way they were breathing.

“Are you okay, Isa?”, asked Xion after a while, carefully raising her head.

Isa nodded weakly, “Tired.”

Roxas nodded, his eyes fluttering shut, “I want to go home.”

“Yeah.”, whispered Lea.

Xion loosened her grip after a while, shuffling her feet in the dirt, “Thank you.”

Lea, who held Isa’s head to his chest, furrowed his brows, “For what?”

“I meant Isa.”

Isa eyes flew open, his tired gaze clouded as he stared at the girl, “Why?”

“You saved us, Isa.”, she said, “You protected us.”

“I lost myself.”, whispered Isa, pressing his eyes shut, as if to avoid the images flashing before him, “I swore to never do this again.”

Lea pressed a tender kiss to his moon’s forehead. “She’s right, Isa.”, he breathed, knowing full well this day would haunt Isa for a long while, “You saved this world and the people.”

Isa’s eyes watered, a conflict erupting in the depths, “I just –“, he shook his head, “I don’t want to be that person again.”

“You’re not, Isa!”, Xion spoke up immediately, her eyes overflowing with honesty, “We know you’re not and you will learn to control it.”, Xion tried to sound confident for her friend, “We will help you.”

Isa caught Lea’s emerald gaze and held it. Lea nodded his head. “We will stay by your side until you learn it all.”, he promised, sealing it with pressing his lips to Isa’s cheekbone, “Until you are the most powerful guardian the world has ever seen.”

“No one will ever be like you, Isa”

* * *

“Don’t think you can just get away with this by the way!”, Xion pointed her finger at her redheaded friend, who was just about to scoop a spoonful of soup into his mouth. He froze mid movement.

“Huh?”

“You left a note?”, Xion could have killed a man with that glare, “Not even a call?”

“Well I – …”, Lea soup trickled down into the bowl with a sad plop, “ – You were in school and – and I just – …”

Isa, who had been quiet the entire meal, spoke up for the first time, “He was trying to keep you safe.”

“What?”, Roxas shook his head, pouting, “You’re defending him now?”

“I though you said you wouldn’t choose a side in this argument.”, even Lea looked surprised, but the satisfied grin on his face told a whole story.

Isa blinked, staring into his half-finished bowl of soup, “Perhaps I lied.”

Xion gasped, “Isa!”

“I guess being on Lea’s side comes naturally.”

“I hate you both.”, Roxas curled his lips and slumped in his chair, the soup all but forgotten.

“Eat up, twig.”

“Shut up, Lea.”

* * *

If someone were to ask him how it felt, Isa would answer with silence. He could lie, obviously. He could say that it was just like drowning, though he had never experienced how that actually felt like. He could compare it to falling, suffocating, fever dreams. But no. He would stay silent. Spare the details.

He was tired, drained of all his energy. Dinner had helped a bit. His family’s words had served as a soothing revelation. For the moment. Until the day it would happen again. And then again. An endless circle. Just like it had always been. Isa had hoped to escape it someday. He wanted to prove to Lea – to his family – that he was different now. Different from the man in the amber-eyed mask.

He rolled to his side, staring at the wall. Maybe things wouldn’t – _couldn’t_ change.

Isa closed his eyes, praying for sleep to come and carry him away from today’s events.

A knock on the door kept him there. He didn’t answer.

A second one. Isa bit his lip.

“Isa?”, it was Lea, voice so soft as if he was afraid to wake a monster. Afraid to disturb the beast.

Isa shook his head, shocked at where his mind had taken him. Lea. His Lea would never think that. One might assume that, after a whole year and a proposal, he would know that.

“I brought you tea, babe.”

He sighed, slowly propping himself on his trembling elbows, “Come in, Lea.”

The door was pushed open and Isa’s fiancé peeked through the crack, “Do you _want_ me to come in?”

Isa nodded his head.

The redhead carefully entered the room, closing the door behind him again. His hair was still damp from his evening shower and he was wearing his pyjamas. Soft cotton sweatpants that were about twice his actual size, making him look even skinnier than he already was and a loose black top. In his hand, he held a steaming cup of tea. He approached the bed with caution, holding Isa’s gaze to make sure he was okay.

He sat down at the edge of the mattress and held the large cup filled with tea out for Isa to take. The bluehead sat up slowly and took it, smiling softly at the way Lea’s cheeks flushed red as their fingers touched. A gorgeous blush that spread all the way from his eyes to his collarbones.

“I thought you’d like some.”, he said after a while, after Isa had taken the first sip.

“Thank you, darling.”

Lea’s skin took on a deeper shade up red and he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck.

“Are you okay, Isa?”, he whispered, green eyes blazing in the golden light of dusk. He reached out to place his hand on Isa’s cheek. It was warm. Warm and soft and Isa melted into the touch. His eyes fell shut.

“I wish I was.”, he then said, his free hand closing around Lea’s, “I really do.”

“I know, love.”, whispered Lea and moved closer to trace Isa’s jawline with his nose, “I know.”

“I thought I was stronger.”, Isa tightened his grip around his cup of tea, “I thought I – I though I didn’t need it anymore.”

“Isa, it doesn’t have to be like this.”, murmured Lea, softly kissing Isa on the cheek, “If it is a part of you, how can it be bad?”

Isa bit back the tears in his throat, leaning into the next kiss Lea planted on his eyelid.

“We will learn to control it – “, breathed Lea, “ – you and I.

“What if I hurt you someday?”, Isa set the cup of tea down on the floor, “You and the kids or the others. I would never forgive myself.”

“You won’t, Isa.”, Lea shook his head, “You protected us. You saved an entire world. You wanted to keep us safe. You wanted to keep the light safe.”

“It’s all I want.”, Isa fell forward into Lea’s arms, taking in the scent of applewood. Lea cradled his moon softly in his arms, kissing his head.

“I know.”, his voice was muffled by Isa’s hair, “And you will succeed. You will learn to wield that power, protect the light and you will become an amazing keyblade wielder – no, _master_.”

“Now, hold on.”, Isa met Lea’s passionate gaze, ablaze with the sight of a bright future for them.

“I can’t wait for your ceremony.”

“Lea, please.”

“Oh, and also – “, and this time, Lea silenced every word of protest by kissing them off his moon’s lips, “ – I can’t wait to marry you.”

Isa sighed, moving his lips so perfectly against Lea’s, melting together like sweet chocolate.

“This is your life, Isa.”, breathed Lea, inches away from Isa’s face, “You get to control it.

Isa shook his head. He fell forward, placing his ear on Lea’s chest to catch the wild _thud thud thud_ of his heart.

“No Lea.”, he said, “This is _our_ life.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are all safe and healthy and that I was able to make you feel a little bit better with this fic! Drink a lot of water and take care of yourself!  
> Find me on tumblr @eternalmomentss!


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